Volunteers from some of the region’s leading marketing agencies are teaming up to help schools fight hunger. A group dubbed the “Dream Team” met at the New York BizLab in Schenectady Wednesday. 

“The goal was really to bring, I think, the best minds in marketing and communications together to help solve a major problem,” said Rick D’Errico, Managing Director of the New York BizLab.

The problem they’re addressing is food insecurity in schools. Several employees of local marketing and public relations firms gathered to combine their skills to call attention to the issue. 

The effort is led by Fundabilities, a crowd-funding company based in the BizLab.

“Most schools have a backpack program but a lot of the schools are missing the financial support that brings that food to the school,” said Dan DeMarco, the CEO of Fundabilities.

Volunteers are developing a marketing and PR strategy for Weekend Servings, a non-profit helping schools raise money to send students-in-need home with food.

“We’re going to work with the school. We’re going to get this campaign running. We’re going to create a video. We’re going to create all the materials they need, release forms etc.,” said Anthony Parente, the head of growth and analytics at Dumbstruck.

“We’re not going to actually make a profit from this but we truly believe, you know, when you give back it comes back to you,” said Dan Allan of Potratz Partners Advertising.

Fundabilities does keep 4.9 percent of what campaigns collect. For schools using their platform for other needs, they’re pledging to put 1 percent of what they receive back into the weekend meals program.

The Dream Team aims to have promotional materials ready in December.

“Then we’re going to take that and templatize it so another school can really quickly just get this digital or physical box,” said Parente.